Vanity drawer for chiffoniers and the like



Feb. 1, 1944.

w. L. LUNDIN VANITY DRAWER 'FOR CHIFFONIERS. AND THE LIKE Filed June 25,1942 2 Sheets-Sheet l WALFRED LUN DIN INVENTOR ATTORNEYS Feb. 1, 1944. Iv w. 1.. LUNDIN' VANITY DRAWER FOR CHIFFONIERS AND THE LIKE 2Sheets$heet 2 Filed June 25, 1942 WALFRED L. LUNDIN INVENTOR jig-.3 W.

AT TORNEYS Patented Feb. 1, 1944 UNITED STATES PATENT OFFICE VANITYDRAWER FOR CHIFFONIERS AND THE LIKE 8 Claims.

This invention relates to chests of drawers, chiffoniers, bureaus,wardrobes, or similar articles of furniture suitable for bedrooms ordressing rooms. More specifically, this invention relates to sucharticles of furniture which are too tall to enable the top to be used asa vanity table or dressing table or a vanity mirror support by anyonesitting in a chair.

In small apartment bedrooms or in any dressing room in which thefurniture space is very limited, it is often inconvenient, if notimpossible, to have a separate vanity or dressing table in addition tothe necessary chiffonier, chest of drawers, or wardrobe. To use the topof one of the latter-mentioned articles of furniture as a dressing tableis not entirely satisfactory, since one would be obliged to stand up allthe time while arranging the hair, etc., and since all the toiletarticles, powder and cosmetics, must occupy space on the top of thefurniture piece.

The object of this invention is to provide a drawer in such an articleof furniture, which, when pulled out, may take the place of a vanity ordressing table, and, when not in use, may be pushed back and closed likeany ordinary chiffonier drawer.

A further object of this invention is to provide a practical means formounting a relatively large mirror in a vanity drawer, which mirror mayeasily be set up when the drawer is in pulled-out position and loweredwhen the drawer is to be pushed back.

An additional object of this invention is to provide a combined vanitydrawer and mirror so simply and practically constructed and arranged asto involve very little expense in construction, to be suitable for anychiffonier, chest of drawers, or the like, and to be capable of use withminimum amount of efiort.

These and incidental objects I attain by making a vanity drawer, andsubstituting the same for an ordinary drawer in a chiffonier and thelike, as hereinafter briefly described.

In the following description reference is made to the accompanyingdrawings in which:

Fig. 1 is a perspective view of my invention shown located in anordinary chiffonier and pulled out and arranged in readiness for use;

Fig. 2 is a fragmentary sectional side elevation of the chiffonier ofFig. 1 showing my vanity drawer closed and pushed back like the otherchiifonier drawers, the adjacent drawers being indicated by brokenlines;

Fig. 3 is a sectional side elevation of the same vanity drawer whenpulled out preparatory to its use, this view illustrating the initialstage in arranging the drawer to serve as a vanity or dressing table;

Fig. 4 is a similar sectional side elevation of the vanity drawershowing the front wall swung down an important feature in thisinvention.

and the mirror-supporting cover pulled to extreme forward position,constituting the next stage in arranging the drawer, and indicating inbroken line the final positioning of the mirror;

Fig. 5 is a fragmentary sectional side elevation of the vanity drawer,drawn to a larger scale, showing the guide slot on the inner face of oneof the side walls and indicating diagrammatically the positions of themirror-supporting cover in the guide slot; and I Fig. 6 is a sectionalelevation of a portion of the bottom of the drawer showing the lockemployed to prevent the drawer being inadvertently pulled entirely outfrom the chiffonier.

In Figs. 1 to 4 inclusive, my vanity drawer A is shown mounted like anyordinary drawer in the chiifonier B, but its location in the chiffonieris such that its height from the floor will be approximately the same asthe heighth of an ordinary dressing table or vanity. The chiffonier B isassumed to be of ordinary design and construc tion and need not bedescribed further. No alteration in its construction is required foraccommodation of the vanity drawer A. When the vanity drawer is inclosed position, as shown in Fig. 2, it appears from the outside of thechiffonier to be the same as any other drawer.

The vanity drawer A includes a bottom II), a back H, a pair of sides [2,attached to bottom and back, and a hinged front l3. The front I3 ishinged to the bottom It by any suitable hinge connection, such as thepair of flush hinges M, (Fig, 1). A conventional drawer pull or handlei5 is secured to the front l3 of the vanity drawer the same as to theother drawers of the chiffonier. The bottom edge of the front l3, thefront edge of the bottom It, and the connecting hinges l4 joining frontand bottom, are so arranged that, when the front I3 is swung on thehinges from the position in Fig. 3 to the position in Figs. 4 and l, thefront will lie in the same plane as the bottom and constitute in effectan extension or continuation of the bottom.

A mirror 2| is mounted in a frame Hi, the outer perimeter of which ispreferably approximately the same size as the interior of the drawer, soas to have the mirror as large as possible. The mirror frame is slidablyand pivotally mounted in the sides 12 of the vanity drawer through themedium of two pins ll, one at each side. which ride in grooves 16,located in the drawer sides i2 respectively. The shape of these guidegrooves It will be seen in Fig. 5 and the shape is Both grooves areidentical and similarly located in their respective sides of the vanitydrawer. Each groove [6 is placed near the top edge of the side wall, issubstantially parallel to the top edge, and has its inner end locatedcomparatively near to the back H of the drawer. A downwardly-extendinglocking notch I9 is located at the rear end of each groove, and asimilar locking notch is located at the front termination of the groove.The purpose of these notche will be explained presently. A branch notchextends upwardly from the groove IE to the top edge of the drawer side,as shown in Fig. 5, to enable the mirror-supporting cover to be attachedto or removed from the drawer when the drawer is entirely withdrawn fromthe chiifonier.

The outer or top member 3| of the mirror frame I8 is formed with atongue and groove 23 adapted to engage with a complementary tongue andgroove 24 in the top of the hinged front It, as shown in Figs. 2 and 3.The mirror-supporting cover is made of such size and the pins H and rearlocking notches l9 are so arranged and located that when the pins l1engage the locking notches l9 and the tongue and groove 23 of themirror-supporting cover engage the tongue and groove 24 of the drawerfront, the drawer front will be held firmly in the vertical positionshown in Figs. 2 and 3. When the front is so held the drawer may bepulled to the position of Fig. 3 or may be pushed back from the positionof Fig. 3 to that of Fig. 2, by grasping the drawer handle H5 in thesame manner as any conventional drawer. However, were it not for theengagement of the pins I! in the rear notches IQ of the guide groove ISthe pulling of the drawer from the position of Fig. 2 to that of Fig. 3would cause the front 13 to swing outwardly on its hinges instead ofbeing held firmly in vertical position.

The back of the mirror is preferably covered by a sheet or panel of woodveneer or other suitable material which not only protects the mirror butalso furnishes a suitable top surface for the mirror-supporting coverwhen the drawer is pulled out into the position of Fig. 3 and the coveris down. In this position the mirror-supporting cover could be used as atemporary table or writing desk.

The sides I2 are cut away at the front upper corners, as shown at 32, toenable the mirrorsupporting cover to be grasped easily and raisedslightly, when the drawer has been pulled to outer position, in order todisengage the tongue and groove 23 from the groove and tongue 24. Thisdisengagement permits the front It to be dropped to the position shownin Fig. l.

On the inside face of each side wall l2 of the drawer a small lug orprojecting strip 25 is secured. The location of these lugs is shown inFigs. 2 and 3. They are preferably slightly below the level of the lowerface of the mirror-supporting cover when the front edge of the cover isin engagement with the drawer front l3, as shown in Figs. 2 and 3, andare placed slightly to the rear of the center line of the cover so thatwhen the cover rests on these lugs, after it has been disconnected fromthe drawer front 13', the front portion of the cover will overbalancethe rear portion and cause the pins I! to be lifted from the lockingnotches Hi. This position of the cover is indicated by the broken linesa: in Fig. 5. The lugs 25 also serve to prevent the mirror-supportingcover from dropping onto the bottom of the drawer when the front I3 isdisconnected from the cover and is swung down on its hinges. Otherwisethe dropping down of the cover might damage the mirror or damagearticles contained within the drawer.

When the cover is in the position indicated by the broken lines w, inFig. 5 it canb pulled forward into the position shown in Fig. 4 withoutany further lifting or manipulating. This forward position is alsoindicated by the broken lines 3 in Fig. 5. All that remains then is toswing the mirror-supporting cover upwardly into the final position sothat the cover will lean back against the front of the chiffonier, asshown in Fig. 1 and as indicated by the broken lines 2 of Figs. 4 and 5.When the mirror-supporting cover is swung upwardly the pins I! drop intothe forward looking notches 20. The engagement of the pins ll with thesenotches 20 then holds the bottom of the mirror-supporting cover in placeand prevents it from being inadvertently shoved back in the grooves l6,which backward shoving might cause it to be overbalanced and toppleforward.

When the drawer is no longer to be used as a dressing table and it isdesired to push the same back into closed position in the chiifonier,the mirror-supporting cover is first swung down into the position shownin Fig. 4. This causes the pins H to be lifted from the forward lookingnotches 2|] and the cover can then be shoved back in the grooves IS. Thefront of the cover is then lifted slightly while the drawer front I3 isswung up on its hinges and the tongue and groove 24 are brought intoengagement with the groove and tongue 23, as previously explained. Thelifting of the cover from the lugs 24, when the cover has been pushedback, causes the pins H" to drop back into the rear locking notches ISwith the result that the cover and drawer front are then held firmly inplace.

In order to prevent the vanity drawer being inadvertently pulledentirely out of the chiffonier I provide a pair of safety catches orlatches 26 (Fig. 6) mounted in the drawer bottom ID and hinged on pins21. These latches normally hang down in the position shown in Figs. 4and 6 and. act to engage the rail 28 at the limit of the forward travelof the drawer. Should it be desired to remove the vanity drawer entirelyfrom the chiffonier or other article of furniture in which it islocated, this may easily be done by manually lifting the latches 26. Todo this in a chiffonier the drawer directly below the vanity drawer maybe pulled out and the latches 26 can be conveniently reached and pressedupwardly to enable them to pass over the rail 28 while the Vanity draweris pulled outwardly.

My vanity drawer could be made of metal instead of wood, or of any othermaterial suitable for furniture, and many variations may be made in thedesign and appearance of the drawer and also in the design andconstruction of the mirror-supporting cover without departing from theprinciple of my invention. Although I have described this vanity draweras mounted in a chiifonier, it will be obvious, as previously mentioned,that my invention can be combined with many types and articles offurniture or might be mounted the same as any other drawer in the wallof the bedroom or dressing room.

I claim:

1. In a drawer of the character described, a bottom, a rear wall, a pairof side walls, a hinged front wall, and a cover, complementary engagingtongue and groove edges at the front of said cover and at the top ofsaid front wall, a pair of pivotal members attached near the rear ofsaid cover at the sides respectively, guide grooves for said pivotalmembers in the side walls of said drawer respectively, a rear lockingnotch extending downwardly in each groove and adapted to engage saidpivotal members when said cover is in its innermost position with itsfront edge supported on said front wall, a pair of elements on theinside faces of said side walls respectively below said guide groovesadapted to support said cover when said front wall is disengaged fromsaid cover, said elements located farther from the front edge of saidcover than from its rear edge, whereby when said cover is supported onsaid elements it will be overbalanced suificiently to cause said pivotalmembers to be lifted from said rear locking notches and facilitate thepulling of said cover forward, and whereby, when said drawer is pulledinto open position and said cover is drawn forward, said cover may beswung up on said pivotal members in the manner described.

2. The combination set forth in claim 1 with the addition of a secondpair of locking notches at the forward ends of said guide groovesadapted to engage said pivotal member when said cover is swung up andthereby to prevent inadvertent displacement of the bottom of said cover.

3. In a drawer of the character described having a bottom, a rear wall,a pair of side walls, and a hinged front wall, a cover, means forholding the front of said cover and the top of said front wall inengagement with each other, a pair of pins attached near the rear ofsaid cover at the sides respectively, guide grooves for said pins in theside walls of said drawer respectively/a rear locking notch extendingdownwardly in each groove and adapted to engage said pins when saidcover is in its innermost positionwith its front edge supported on saidfront wallrsaid side walls being cut away at the forward upper cornersto enable the front end of said cover to be manually lifted when saidfront wall andlsaid cover are to be disengaged, a second pair of lockingnotches at the forward ends of said guide grooves adapted to engage saidpins when said cover is swung up and thereby to prevent inadvertentdisplacement of the bottom of said cover.

4. In a vanity drawer, a bottom, a rear wall, a pair of side walls, afront wall, said front wall being hinged to said bottom, a cover, meansfor holding the front of said cover and the top of said front wall inengagement with each other, a pair of pivotal members attached to saidcover at the sides respectively, guide grooves for said pivotal membersin the side walls of said drawer respectively, a rear locking notchextending downwardly in each groove and adapted to engage said pivotalmembers when said cover is in its innermost position with its front edgesupported on said front wall, a pair of rests on the inside faces ofsaid side walls respectively below said guide grooves adapted to supportsaid cover when said front wall i disengaged from said cover, said restslocated further from the front edge of said cover than from its rearedge, whereby when said cover is suported on said rests it will beoverbalanced sufficiently to cause 'said pivotal members to be liftedfrom said rear locking notches and facilitate the Pulling of said coverforward, a mirror mounted on the underside of said cover, whereby, whensaid drawer is pulled into open position and said cover is drawnforward, said cover may be swung up on saidpivotal members to provide adressing mirror 'for the drawer.

5. A vanity drawer having, a bottom, a rear wall, a pair of side walls,a hinged front wall, and a mirror-supporting cover, complementaryengaging tongue and groove edges at the front of said cover and at thetop of said front wall, a pair of pins attached near the rear of saidcover at the sides respectively, guide grooves for said pins in the sidewalls of said drawer respectively, a rear locking notch extendingdownwardly in each groove and adapted to engage said pins when saidcover is in its innermost position with its front edge supported on saidfront wall, a pair of lugs on the inside faces of said side wallsrespectively below said guide grooves adapted to support said cover whensaid front wall is disengaged from said cover, a mirror mounted on theunderside of said cover, whereby, when said drawer is pulled into openposition and said cover is drawn forward, said cover may be swung up onsaid pins and back against the front face of the chiffonier to provide adressing mirror for the vanity drawer in the manner described.

6. The combination set forth in claim 5 with said lugs located furtherfrom the front edge of said cover than from its rear edge, whereby whensaid cover is supported on said lugs it will be overbalancedsufficiently to cause said pins to be lifted from said rear lockingnotches and facilitates the pulling of said cover forward.

7. The combination set forth in claim 5 with said lugs located furtherfrom the front edge of said cover than from its rear edge, whereby whensaid cover is supported on said lugs it will be overbalancedsuificiently to cause said pins to be lifted from said rear lockingnotches and to facilitate the pulling of said cover forward, and withthe addition of a second pair of locking notches at the forward ends ofsaid guide grooves adapted to engage said pins when saidmirrorsupporting cover is swung up and thereby to prevent inadvertentdisplacement of the bottom of said mirror-supporting cover when saidmirror is being used.

8. A vanity drawer of the character described including a bottom, a rearwall, a pair of side walls, a front wall, said front wall being hingedto said bottom, a cover, complementary engaging tongue and groove edgesat the front of said cover and at the top of said front wall, a pair ofpivotal members attached near the rear of said cover at the sidesrespectively, guide grooves for said pivotal members in the side wallsof said drawer respectively, a rear locking notch extending downwardlyin each groove and adapted to engage said pivotal members when saidcover is in its innermost position with its front edge supported on saidfront wall, a mirror mounted on the underside of said cover, whereby,when said drawer is pulled into open position and said cover is drawnforward, said cover may be swung up on said pivotal members to provide adressing mirror for the drawer, said side walls being cut away at theforward upper corners to enable the front end of said cover to bemanually lifted when said front wall and said cover are to bedisengaged, and a second pair of locking notches at the forward ends ofsaid guide grooves adapted to engage said pivotal members when saidmirriorsupporting cover is swung up and thereby to prevent inadvertentdisplacement of the bottom of said mirror-supporting cover when saidmirror is being used.

WALFRED L. LUNDIN.

